Šutaj Eštok rejects EU mechanisms for blanket surveillance under the Chat Control proposal

Bratislava – Minister of the Interior of the Slovak Republic Matúš Šutaj Eštok (Hlas-SD) rejects mechanisms for blanket surveillance of private messages within the EU legislative proposal called Chat Control, which aims to protect children from online abuse. He is convinced that child protection and privacy protection must not exclude each other. The minister stated this in a video on social media, TASR reports.

“Effective tools to combat child abuse must exist, but they must not create a system that would open the door to the abuse of personal data. Slovakia should advocate for a balanced and reasonable approach in Brussels. Our goal must be a solution that truly protects children while also providing clear and binding guarantees for the privacy of our citizens,” stated Matúš Šutaj Eštok.

As the minister pointed out, he initially supported the proposal, but it gradually became clear that the current wording contains risks. The most serious of these is the possibility of breaking the encryption of private communication.

He declared that the Ministry of the Interior will participate in discussions on how to set up legislation to protect children so that it is effective and safe at the same time. “However, we will only support measures that are in line with the interests of the Slovak Republic and its citizens, and we definitely do not consider blanket surveillance to be one of them,” he concluded. (September 3)

“Our goal must be a solution that truly protects children while also providing clear and binding guarantees for the privacy of our citizens.” Matúš Šutaj Eštok.